


Stuck Between Worlds

by BillysBitch



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, F/M, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28513212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BillysBitch/pseuds/BillysBitch
Summary: Yeveria Thornton goes through the motions of life in Hawkins Indiana. But when a new family moves to town high jinx ensue
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Yeveria stood there, tears rolling down her face as she saw the man she had grown to love be slowly torn apart. Slimy tendrils ripping into his torso as he tried to protect one of the most remarkable girls she had ever met. Her heart was pounding. It was all moving in slow motion yet going so fast all at the same time. The moments they held together flashing through her mind as his screams pierced through her soul.

——————————————————————————

It was a normal day at Hawkins High School. Yeveria climbed out of Jonathan's car adjusting her jacket as she heard a loud revving engine. The black '79 Camaro sped through the parking lot and into a parking space. Everyone's eyes on the car as boots popped out of the side and a blonde man climbs out clad in an all-denim outfit with a white shirt to offset the blue. He slams his car door and walked toward the school entrance, many of the girls checking out his ass as he walked past them. Yeveria looked over at Jonathan with wide eyes and curiosity. There hadn't been someone that eccentric in this town in a long time.

A few of the other students walked over to the car checking it out. It was a nice car, after all. The only thing Yeveria really noticed was the California plates as she and Jonathan walked past the car on their way inside the prison-like building.

"Hey, Yeveria!"

The young woman jumped a little being snapped out of her thoughts looking in the direction her name was called, seeing Steve jog over to her. Jonathan saw Steve and frowned a bit before waving at Yeveria and setting off to his own locker.

"Oh hey Steve, did you get that essay finished?" She questioned as she opened her locker sticking in some of her books and taking out others for her first few classes.

"Yeah, Nancy took a look at it on the way here... she says there are issues with it... did you get yours done?"

"Uh yeah, I got it done the night he assigned it."

"Right..."

Steve didn't really know how else to respond. He was a bit defeated. He watched as Yeveria closed her locker and turned to look at him.

"I can help you work on it after school if you like. Nancy can come too. My grandparents always love the company," she offered as they both walked to their first class.

"Ah, I can't! Me and nance are having dinner at Barb's home tonight... Her parents are taking her... disappearance hard and we have already postponed it enough," Steve explains making Yeveria nod her head in understanding.

Yeveria didn't really know Barb, she had only had her in one or two classes and she mostly kept to herself. If it wasn't for her being close with the Byers she wouldn't have had friends at all. 

Yeveria moved to Hawkins Indiana when she was in middle school. Her parents had passed away and she had to move all the way from sunny California to the middle of nowhere Indiana. It was weird for sure to move from a more city-like environment to the suburbs. There weren't many people who looked like her except for the Sinclair's and maybe a few other families.

Yeveria was mixed race which was rare in a society that rarely mixed. Her mother was a beautiful African-American woman who was an English teacher for children with learning disabilities while her father was a language specialist for the military. It was a bad car accident that ended up taking them away from her at such a young age. That's when she moved in with her grandparents.

Seeing as she had moved in the middle of the seventh grade she was behind on a lot, so she ended up sitting by herself at lunch until one day, she noticed a boy sitting by himself as well. So she decided to sit with him. The boy ended up being Jonathan and their friendship sparked from there. It was an added bonus when they found out they were neighbors and even more so after everything that happened almost a year earlier.

You see, Yeveria had gotten stuck in the upside-down with Will. It was luck that she ever found Will in the first place. She was running from some sort of dog-like creature when she stumbled upon Will. She protected him the best she could while with him. Sadly, she wasn't enough to protect him. He almost died. So did she. But the two of them made it through everything in the end. She made it a point to visit him as much as possible, seeing as she was the only one who truly knew what he went through in the upside-down.

She and Steve make it to their first class of the day, eventually separating ways once the class ends and going to their next class, the day going normally. Finally getting to her English class and sitting down in her normal seat, she went through her notebook finding a clean page and got herself situated as the door to the classroom shut and the teacher asked the students to quiet down so he could start the class.

About five minutes into his lesson the door opened and in walked the boy with the California plates.

"Ah Mr. Hargrove thanks for joining us, class this is Billy Hargrove, he will be our newest addition to the class, all the way from California. Why don't you sit next to Ms.Thornton, you moved from California as well didn't you, Yeveria?" This made Billy's eyes shoot to a now uncomfortable Yeveria.

Her eyes widened when she heard the name. She hadn’t thought about him for a long time. He was a distant memory. She couldn't be sure it was truly the boy she was so close with as a child. There are plenty of Billy's in California. However, there were not many Billy Hargrove's. And this Billy certainly looked like the Billy she knew, although, certainly didn't carry himself the same way.

"I, uh, yes sir," she said, answering the man's question as Billy walked over sitting down next to her.

"Well now where were we, Socrates was an..."

The whole class was a blur as she remembered the times she had when she was younger. She lived in military housing at the time but when her father had time, he would always take her down to the beach. That's when she met Billy Hargrove for the very first time. He was always with his mother when he was at the beach. Billy had been the one to teach her to surf. She was absolutely terrible when it came to surfing but she was an excellent swimmer.

Before she knew it the classes were over as the bell rang the teacher retelling the reading assignment as students hustled to get out of class. Yeveria scrambled as well. If she was being honest she didn't want to be caught alone with Billy. What was she going to say? She hasn't spoken to him since she left California which was going on five years. However, before she could leave the classroom. The teacher called for her.

"Ms. Thornton, seeing as Mr. Hargrove hasn't been in class, I'm going to have you catch him up. You both can work on the next assignment together" he explained.

Yeveria looked at him like a deer in headlights before looking at Billy once again. He only looked back at her with a slight smirk set on his lips as he leaned against the desk behind him. This made her mentally scoff before looking back at her teacher.

"Mr. Hemings as much as I would love to help Mr. Hargrove I feel like it would be an unfair advantage to have two students working on one project while the others have to work on it by themselves," she explained trying to get out of it.

Before Mr. Hemings could rebuttal Billy pushed off the desk walking closer to Yeveria and Mr. Hemings

"Mr. Hemings I promise to take good care of Ms. Thornton. I'll do my project with the guiding hand of my little helper," he says patting Yeveria's head making her jaw drop. She looked up at the tall dirty blonde male with a dark glare.

"Perfect. That will be due next Monday," Mr. Hemings said before dismissing both of them.

Yeveria huffed only letting out her frustration once out of the classroom walking off towards her locker to grab her lunch. As she rummaged through her locker she noticed Billy lean against the locker next to her pulling a cigarette out of his jacket pocket going to light it before promptly being scolded by a nearby teacher.

"You know back in California they wouldn't really give a rats ass if you smoked in school," he says to Yeveria.

"Yeah well, this is Hawkins, not San Diego," she says with a slam of her locker door. This made Billy scoff, however, before he could get another word in they were both interrupted by Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins. The sight of those two made her even more enraged.

"Hey, Billy! What are you doing hanging out with this loser, you coming to the party on Halloween? It's at Tori's house," Tommy said.

Yeveria took this as her cue to leave, turning and walking off, seeing Jonathan she sped up. Jonathan immediately saw the irritation on her face. Neither of them noticed the blue eyes that watched them as they exited the school building to go eat lunch at their usual spot.

"Was that the new guy? His name Billy right?" Jonathan started carefully.

"Yeah... Billy Hargrove... Hemmings is forcing me to help him with the English project. That's the only reason he was talking to me... I actually kind of know him from California... he's not the same boy though... he's changed a lot," she says as they sat down at the picnic table. She noticed the bright orange paper Jonathan had set down as he shuffled to get out his lunch. She picked it up, reading the texts. 'Come get sheet faced.'

"You seriously going to this thing?" She asked curiously, concluding it was the party Tommy was talking about.

"Nancy wants me to, but I can't since I'll be trick or treating with Will." He explained, making her frown.

"I'm going to be honest... I think you guys are suffocating him... we went through hell and I understand you guys want to protect him... but the more you treat him like he's broken he's going to continue to act like he is... just give him a little space," she says in his defense.

She knew this feeling all too well. Everyone had thought she had been kidnapped or killed by a wild animal. She had tried to find her cat when she was snatched by a huge tall lanky creature. The police had found blood and her flashlight making them think the worst. When she came back, her grandparents didn't let her leave the house without one of them or Jonathan escorting her. She's only recently been able to start venturing out on her own once again.

"We have to, we can't handle ever losing him again. He's been having episodes where he just walks around almost like he's in a trance." He explained.

"Yeveria!"

Both her and Jonathan's heads shot over to Mrs. Byers who was standing there making some of the other students stare. The story they ran with was that she was in fact kidnapped and she had managed to escape. Sometimes, if there were any leads she would have to go into the station when she had to go to the lab like Will. They wanted to make sure whatever environment they were in didn't affect their health.

Overall it seemed to have affected Will more than it did Yeveria when it came to episodes of what they called PTSD. But with her, it showed differently. She hated the cold now, she couldn't be in dark rooms alone, and she hyper-focused on school or other activities as a way to forget it all.

"Shit... I forgot. I'll talk to you later," Yeri said softly before standing up and walking off with Jonathan's mother who led her to his truck.

————

Yeri sat in the back seat of the car, she always let Will sit in the front seeing as he enjoyed that better.

"Hey Will, what do you have for lunch today? I have homemade brownies. I'll trade you for a pickle if you have it," Yeveria says, making Will smile digging through his bag. He handed her the baggie with the pickle in it as she gave him the brownie.

"Thanks, Yeri," he says with a smile. He liked the days she went into the lab with him. She never had to go in as much since she wasn't having as much of a rough time as he was. As they drove Yeri stared out the window and munched on her pickle along with the rest of her lunch.

Joyce looked back at her through the rearview window before looking over at Will who was doing the same thing. Spacing out as he ate the brownie Yeri had given him.

"You feeling any better?" She asked Will softly frowning when he didn't answer. "Will?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm yeah sorry," he responded softly.

"Hey what did we talk about huh? Stop with the sorry's"

"Sorry. I mean yeah I know..."

Joyce nodded pausing for a moment before speaking once again.

"Listen, you know, there's nothing to be nervous about, you know. Just tell 'em what you felt last night and what you saw. Hey, I'm gonna be there the entire time and so is Yeveria. So it's gonna be okay. Okay?"

"Okay."

Yeveria could tell he was scared like he usually was. He hated being told that what he was feeling was all in his head and would pass. She sat there for a moment.

"You know, Will... I get really nervous when I have to go in as well, I hate needles and they poke at least 10 different needles into me each time. Do they do that to you as well? You know what I do when they have to do their tests? I take a deep breath and I think about the most soothing memory I have. Do you wanna know what mine is?" She starts off, watching Will to gauge what she was saying was helping at all. Will nodded as he shifted to look at Yeri.

"Well, mine is when my parents would take me to the beach. I would tire myself out with all the swimming and when I was tired I would go back to my mother and she would hold me under the umbrella and sing to me softly. All I would remember after that is waking up in my bed with my pajamas on being snuggled by my dog," she explained softly. She could tell that Will was taking that to heart and she hoped to God that it would help him.

Eventually, they made it to the lab. Hopper was already there waiting for them to arrive. Yeri left her things in the car knowing she wouldn't really need anything. Usually, when this happened she didn't go back to school either. Luckily, Jonathan knew her locker combo and would grab her bag for her.

Once inside the laboratory, Will and Yeveria were taken to two separate parts of the lab. Hopper went with Yeveria and Joyce went with Will like usual.

"I am fine on my own, you know," Yeri said as they got to the elevator looking up at the gruff male.

"You're a minor, meaning you still need to be represented by an adult to make sure they don't do anything. And seeing as your grandparents have no idea what you went through that leaves me to be your representative," Hopper said looking down at her.

"At least you don't treat me like I'm broken...." she said as the doors open and she is led to a room so she could change into a hospital gown and be weighed and do all the necessary things before they could go through the interview part of the visit. They took some blood as well as injected her with a serum before hooking her up to a machine that made graphs almost like a polygraph or an earthquake tremor reader.

"Alrighty, now, can you tell me if you have noticed anything different? Any episodes? Any new developments to the things we spoke about last time?" Asked the nurse. Seeing as Yeri's issues were not as severe as Will’s, Dr. Owen usually worked with him more than her.

"Well... I had another panic attack. My grandparents were away having dinner down by the diner and I was all alone... and the power went out briefly due to that storm. It felt like I was back there...."

"The upside-down?" The nurse questioned making Yeveria nod. The nurse wrote this down before letting her continue.

"Usually, I would go over to the Byers in this situation. But due to the storm, there was no safe way for me to do so. And I just... crumbled. I felt like everything around me was caving in. I thought I was there. And it felt like something was watching me like, like, like an evil."

As she explained this her heart rate increased she could feel the cold creeping over her skin. She was starting to go back into another panic as the memories rushed through. She could feel the evil again as tears began to stream down her face. Her body curling into itself as her knees met her chest. Her hands went to her head and gripped her curly hair tightly as she began to go into another panic attack.

It wasn't until her name was screamed in her face and being held tightly by Hopper. She clung to him firmly as she cried more slowly, calming down, feeling the soft vibration of Hopper's voice as he told her to take deep breaths. She finally was able to breathe normally, the tears coming to a halt.

————

After another hour or so the laboratory visit came to an end. The four of them walked out of the building, Will and Yeri walking together as they chatted softly.

"Hey, your brother left his camera at my house so don't let your mom leave without letting me come back out to give it to him, yeah?" She said softly.

Will nodded, he seemed more off than he did when they went in. She understood that though. She felt the same way. She hadn't broken down like that in front of so many people since when she first came out of all of this. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

"Yeri.... do you think that maybe, I don't know like... do you think I'll ever get rid of this?" Will asked as Joyce and Hopper stood outside the car talking.

Yeri thought for a moment on this. She wasn't truly sure. They couldn't tell what was bothering Will. If it was truly mental or if he had been altered by the atmosphere of the upside-down.

"Well... do you feel like it will ever end?" She asked him. This tactic was something her mother used to help her process her emotions. She figured she would try it out on him.

"No.... it doesn't feel like it will... I'm afraid I'm going to be stuck with this forever" he said. You could see the pain in his eyes. Whatever was bothering him had scared him to the core.

"It will be alright, we will get through this alright? Me and you. I promise things will get better. You won't be bothered by the shadow any longer," she said softly, running her hand through his hair right as Joyce hopped into the car to drive them back to their homes.

————

Yeri sat at home, going through the homework she was assigned and marking in her planner to do all the work. She was surprised her junior year of high school was so tough. She always thought senior year was going to be worse due to college. She sighed when she saw the note she made about the assignment due for English. She knew she should have gotten Billy's number. She would just have to get it the next time she saw him. Or give him hers. She wrote that in big red letters before starting on the important homework.

Eventually, the house was dead quiet. Her grandparents fast asleep. It was about 10:00 P.M. and she was just about finished with her science homework. Once she put her pencil down is when it happened. She suddenly was no longer home. Well, not her real home. She felt her heart sink as she realized what was happening. She could feel the eyes on her. The evil crawling in again. She slowly stood up from her desk seeing the white snow-like substance floating around her before her door creaked open.

She had no idea what was happening. This was so foreign to her, it was similar to what Will had described to her before.


	2. Chapter 2

Yeri looked in the mirror at her costume. She usually didn't celebrate Halloween. She came from a very Christian household and she didn't quite enjoy the Holiday, however, she promised Will she would this year. She knew the boys were dressing up as Ghostbusters so she decided to go as their secretary, Janine Melnitz. It was a subtle enough costume but any true fan would know what she was going for when she stood next to the boys.

To mimic Janine's hair in the movie she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and let a few curls frame her face. She also wore an oversized striped shirt tucking it into her dark-washed jeans throwing on one of her grandmother's Buffalo check vests. She topped off her look with her glasses.

She looked at herself in the mirror, a smile forming before she grabbed her book bag and ran out the door making her way through the woods to the Byers house.

"AHHH!!! You look so good!!" Yeveria said when she saw Will walk out of the house just as she exited the woods.

"You actually dressed up!!" Will said getting just as excited making Yeri grin, doing a little twirl for him.

"Yes sir! A promise is a promise. Party rules right?" She said before waving to Joyce.

"Hi, Ms.Byers!! Hope you have a nice day today!" She attempted to get into the car but was stopped.

"Wait wait wait!! You and Will need to be in one!" Johnathan proclaimed holding up his camera making Yeri and Will groan but stand next to each other and pose for a few pictures.

"Hey, what's that!" Yeri said pointing, making Jonathan look the other way. Yeri took that time to run into the car while Will ran to his bike and rode off to school, both laughing as Jonathan complained. He soon got into the driver’s side looking at Yeri for a moment before laughing.

"What?!"

"Nothing, it's just nice to see you laugh is all, you're always so serious or focused on something," Jonathan said as he started the car and made his way towards the high school.

"Yeah well, that's what Halloween is about right? Having fun?" she said which made him nod his head

"Yeah, I suppose it is, you coming trick or treating with us tonight?"

"My grandparents wouldn't like that... they don't even know that I'm dressed up... plus I have a lot of homework that I ha-"

"See there you go again," Jonathan said, cutting her off. "You need to relax Yer, have fun! Plus I wouldn't mind the company with someone my age, Will usually gets tired around eight anyways."

Yeri sighed looking at him for a moment.

"Fine… my grandparents usually have their date night tonight anyways. But we can't be out too late!"

"We won't, I promise."

Yeri nodded, getting a bit excited now thinking about her first Halloween.

Eventually, they got to the school parking in their usual spot. Yeveria got out of the car with her things as she thought about the things that needed to be done today. As her mind wandered, so did her eyes. She noticed Billy's car was already there and she watched as a short red-headed girl climbed out, throwing her skateboard on the ground and skating off towards the middle school. She found this interesting. Who was she?

"Oh, Billy I just love you sooooo much!" Said a voice behind her making Yeri turn to see Steve making her punch him in the arm "Ow!"

"You deserved that," Nancy said to Steve as Jonathan walked over smiling softly at Nancy.

"I'm not in love with him, I just used to know him," Yeri huffed

"Yeah well from what I hear he's a major jerk, he hangs out with Tommy and Carol and the rest of those assholes."

"I think he might be at the party tonight," Nancy said as she watched Billy get out of the car and walk inside the building.

"Yeah well, I have to help him with Hemmings homework, which means I have to talk to him again and figure out when and where he wants to meet to do it."

That's when the school bell rang making the four of them start to walk towards the school building.

"Oh, how was dinner… with the Holland's?" Yeri asked softly.

"It was… good," Nancy responded.

Steve gave Yeri a look. Obviously, it was a sore subject. Yeri couldn't imagine having Jonathan ripped away from her so suddenly, so she couldn't begin to think about what Nancy was feeling seeing as Barbara was her best friend. She was sure Steve would tell her more in their math class that they had together.

Eventually, the four broke apart to go to their lockers and first class of the day. Yeveria's first class of the day being German three. Much like her father, she took an interest in language. She found it absolutely fascinating how everyone in the world was human, but so many didn't know how to communicate or understand each other.

"Hey, saw you watching me earlier," said a voice next to her. She looked up seeing Billy.

"Wasn't watching you. I was watching the girl who I assume is your sister."

"Don't call her my sister, she will never be my sister."

This made her raise an eyebrow looking over Billy's face. He looked broken inside. It was hidden well. But it was there.

"Well, whoever she is, I was watching her not you. But that doesn't matter. You finding me makes this easier, meet me at the library during study period. I can help you with that project then."

This made Billy smirk as he stopped walking since Yeri was now outside the classroom she needed to be in.

"Is that the only reason you want to meet at the library? I never took you for such a, uh, dirty type," he said, his voice dropping an octave and silky smooth as he smiled that panty-dropping smile. The look made Yeri blush madly stuttering a bit.

"Just meet me there," she said in a huff before storming off into the classroom. Not seeing Billy's grin grow wider as he walked off to his own class.

**————**

Yeri sat in her usual spot in the library waiting for Billy. While she waited she did some of the other homework that was due the next day, seeing as she was going to be with Will and the gang for the night. She vigorously wrote down the mathematical equations as Billy sat down next to her watching her work.

"If you get out the blue notebook and open it to the section called Hemmings then we can get started once I finish this problem," Yeri mumbled as she erased some of her work.

Billy did as he was told, picking up her bag and looking through it, pulling out a picture of her Will Jonathan and Joyce that Bob, Joyce's boyfriend, had taken of them.

"So is that kid who drives you to school every morning like your boyfriend or something?" Billy asked as he pulled out the notebook.

"Who Jonathan? Absolutely not. He's basically a brother, besides I'm not his type. He likes tall thin brunettes," she said closing the notebook she was working on finally finished with her math homework.

Yeri looked at the picture smiling softly as she took it out of his hand to look at it herself. It was one of her favorites. She had a copy in her photo album at home as well.

"The Byers as a whole were my first close friends, Jonathan especially. He was my only friend for a few years. It wasn't until last year I made friends with Nancy and Steve," She explained before changing the subject.

It was obvious the two of them had a lot to catch up on. And neither of them truly knew how. I mean they were both very different from who they were when they were younger. It just felt off. It's always sad when you can't start where you left off.

"Anyways, in Hemmings class, we have been working on some philosophical writings and analyzing them. We then have to compare it to either another piece of literature, a movie, or a piece of music. For my project, I'm going to be doing a mix of music and movies" she explained. "So, when you start your project, I suggest starting with the music or movies or books you like in mind and when you read the passages provided."

Billy listened intently. If he was being honest with himself, he had no intention of doing this project. He hated it here and he would much rather think about the party later, so he slowly began turning up his charm as Yeveria spoke.

He shifted, keeping eye contact on her instead of the notebook in front of her. His head tilted ever so slightly.

“I’m going to be real honest,” he started off. His voice was an octave lower and somehow even more silky smooth than it usually was. “I’m more than lost with this project, I know I said I would do my own but I would love it if we could possibly work more… closely.”

As he said the second part of his sentence he slowly moved closer to Yeri’s face. This caught her off guard as her face got really red. She wasn’t used to this type of attention. She wasn’t what most would call desirable, though she was rather beautiful, who she hung out with usually tainted her appeal due to petty social hierarchies put in place by the simple minds of teenagers.

She didn’t even know what to say to him as he smiled that award-winning smile, winked and stood up turning to walk away leaving the curly-haired girl with her jaw dropped. The only thing that snapped her out of her shock was the bell ringing for next period.

**————**

Yeri walked out of the school. She was talking with Nancy, they only split since Jonathan and Steve parked on separate ends of the school parking lot. On her way to Jonathan’s car, who was patiently waiting for her by taking some photos of the surroundings, she noticed the red-headed girl skating towards Billy’s car.

“You’re late again,” Billy said, the irritation evident in his voice.

“Yeah, I had to catch up on homework,” said the girl as she kicked up her board.

“Jesus, I don’t care! You’re late again and you're skating home. You hear me?”

Yeri frowned a bit, not catching the rest of the conversation as music began to blast from the car and screeched off, peeling out of the school parking lot.

“Wait, wait, wait, just stand there,” Jonathan said, snapping a picture of Yeri as she finally got to the car.

Yeri paused, keeping the position as he snapped a few more pictures. After another second, his face appeared from behind the camera with a smile.

“Ready to go trick or treating?”

“Not really but I think it would be good to get my mind off school.”

“Perfect! We have to go, we are already a bit late. Bob wanted to show me how to use his video camera so we can document the trip.”

And with that, they both climbed into the car heading off towards the Byers household.

**————**

“So you hit ‘T’ to zoom in, and ‘W’ zooms back out. See? Easy-peasy. Just make sure to turn off the power to save energy there,” Bob said informatively as he and Jonathan fiddle with the video camera.

Yeri walked past the boys heading to the kitchen to grab some water.

“Listen. Stay close to your brother, okay? And listen, listen, listen... If you get a bad feeling or anything, you tell him to take you straight home. You promise?” Joyce said as she fixed parts of Will’s costume.

“Okay,” the young boy responds. He was actually excited to go out with his friends. It was rare he was allowed out at night and even if Jonathan and Yeri were going to be there watching his every move, he would try and make the best of it.

“Nice costume, Yeri! Janine from Ghostbusters right?” Bob said excitedly.

Yeri grinned, “I love how you got that without me standing next to the others! Yes, I am the one and only best ghostbusting secretary around!” She said with a grin as Jonathan walked into the dining room where Joyce and Will were.

“You ready, bud?”

“Yeah.”

Yeri took that as her cue to leave walking towards the door with Jonathan and Will following close behind.

“Be safe!” Joyce called after them.

In a terrible Dracula impression, “I hope it doesn’t suck,” Bob said with a snicker watching as they all get into the car, Yeveria sitting in the back again.

**————**

As they drove into town Yeri sat in the back doing some of her homework as Jonathan began to rant a bit.

“I just don’t know what she sees in him.”

Yeri immediately thought he was talking about Nancy and Steve. She was surprised he was ranting about that with Will.

“What?”

“Bob.”

“At least he doesn't treat me different. I mean, I can't even go trick-or-treating by myself. It's lame.” The disappointment in Will’s voice was palpable

Yeri glanced up from her work, a small smirk forming on her lips. She loved it when she was right, and she loved the fact that Will was speaking up about it a little. Her gaze met Jonathan’s who could read her like a book.

“What you think I’m lame? I’m not the only one here you know. You got Yeveria,” he said, nudging Will a bit.

Yeveria scoffed at this. She knew full well Will knew she wasn’t there to watch over him.

“No, but it's not like Nancy's coming to watch over Mike, you know?”

Jonathan sighed at Will’s response not really knowing what to say to that. It did make him start to think about what Yeri had said the day before.

**————**

Soon they arrived at the destination where they would all be trick or treating.

“Will, hey!” Shouted Dustin from outside the car before going back to playing with the other three boys.

Yeri began packing up her bag before unclasping her seatbelt to get out of the car. She was actually getting excited, seeing everyone in their costumes.

“Hey, listen,” Jonathan started as he looked at Will.

“Yeah?”

“If I let you go on your own, do you promise to stay in the neighborhood?”

Now that was a shocker. Yeri tried her best to keep her facial expressions composed, stopping what she was doing. She didn’t want to get out of the car and awkwardly have to walk back inside. If Jonathan was going to let Will go on his own, she would follow suit. She didn’t want him feeling restricted, especially by her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.” Anybody could hear the restrained excitement in Will’s voice and face. 

“And be back at Mike’s at 9:00.”

“9:30?”

“9:00.”

“Yeah.”

“Deal?”

“Yeah, deal!”

“Alright. Hey, Will. Don't let any of your spazzy friends use this, all right?” Jonathan said, handing the camera Bob lent him to Will.

“Okay.”

“I hope it doesn’t suck,” Jonathan said, imitating Bob's terrible Dracula impression, making both Yeri and Will laugh as Will climbed out of the car, meeting up with Lucas, Mike, and Dustin.

“Very well done, sir, I must commend you on letting him be free,” Yeri said as she climbed into the front seat from inside the car. “So what are we going to be doing for the devil’s night?”

That’s when Jonathan pulls out the crumpled invitation to Tina's party looking at it then at Yeveria who looked at him. She had never been to a house party.

“I mean… why not right? I know Nancy will be there. And Steve will be there if she’s there,” Jonathan said knowing Steve and Yeri had gotten close since they had a lot of classes together and was the only other person his age that knew about the previous events.

“Alright, why the hell not!”

**————**

‘Shout at the Devil’ by Mötley Crüe, making the house shake as drunk teenagers shout the lyrics and drink. At the back of the house, a bunch of people were counting as they hyped up Billy who was upside down on the keg.

“38, 39, 40, 41, 42!!”

Everyone screams as Billy came right side up, screaming excitedly as he tried to catch his breath a bit.

“42! We got ourselves a new keg king!”

And just like that, a bunch of them began to chant Billy’s name.

“That’s how you do it, Hawkins!” Billy shouted, raising his hands up before taking a cigarette someone handed him. Billy and a few others began to walk back inside.

The party was just as exciting inside as it was outside. Everyone was dancing as they threw toilet paper and drank their livers into the ground.

“We got ourselves a new keg king, Harrington,” Tommy said mockingly when he spots Steve standing by the wall with Nancy, Billy and another groupie close behind, the three surrounding Steve.

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“Yeah, eat it.”

Steve lowers and takes off the sunglasses he was wearing, beginning to square off with Billy who looked at him with his cocky grin.

With that, Nancy walked off and headed to the kitchen where she could hopefully find something interesting to drink.

As she entered she noticed a bunch of kids shooting up some sort of drug and a bunch of others making out. She looked around the kitchen noticing a guy absolutely chugging a weird red color punch.

“What’s in this?” She asked cautiously.

“Pure fuel! Pure fuel! Whoo!” he shouts, throwing his glass on the ground making it shatter as he burped. He then walked off to rejoin the party.

Nancy then took a glass of the concoction and began to drink.

“Hey… Whoa, whoa! Hey… Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy. Take it easy. Nance, Nance, Nance…” Steve said concerned as he walks up behind her.

**————**

The party was already raging by the time Yeri and Jonathan got there. ‘Girls on Film’ by Duran Duran now being blasted throughout the house. The duo slowly walked into the house, Yeri immediately being overwhelmed by everything. The music, the smell of alcohol, cigarettes, and what she could only imagine was a mix of puke and sex.

“Nice costume,” said a girl walking past the two.

“W-what?” Yeri was absolutely lost. Her anxiety was going through the roof. She didn’t want to be there. She was on sensory overload.

“Nice costume,” she repeated herself.

“Oh, thanks, I’m going as a guy who hates parties. And she’s pretending to be Tina's mom,” Jonathan says referring to Yeri’s very outdated clothes. This comment made the girl laugh.

“I’m Samantha.”

“Uh, Jonathan,” Jonathan said as he saw Nancy getting distracted.

“Kiss?” Yeri asked looking at Samantha now trying to relax a little. The question made her raid an eyebrow before making Yeri’s eyes widen. “The band!” She said to clarify.

Samantha laughed as she responded, “yeah, Kiss, favorite band next to the Scorpions,” she explained

Jonathan began to walk off in search of Nancy, leaving the two girls alone.

“I’m sorry, I’ve never been to a house party like this before… I don’t really know what to do.” Yeri admitted.

“Oh! Well, I’ve got you covered. Let’s fix your costume first. We can definitely work with this. Then we will get you a drink.”

**————**

After about five minutes, Yeri’s costume had completely changed. Samantha had truly done wonders. Yeri’s hair was down framing her face with heavy eyeliner as well as thick red lipstick. Her white undershirt was unbuttoned a bit, revealing a decent amount of cleavage, the glasses and ugly sweater gone. She looked hot, but very out of her comfort zone.

Samantha led her through the crowd and into the kitchen grabbing her a cup and filling it with the same stuff Nancy had drunk earlier.

She took one sip and sputtered as it burned down her throat.

“What the hell is in this!” She protested, making Samantha laugh before being called away to one of her other friends.

Yeri sighed at that, standing there before being pushed aside as a group of boys went to the spiked punch bowl. As she was pushed away, Steve brushed past her.

“Hey, Steve!” Yeri called.

Steve looked back at her for a moment, the distress and sadness in his eyes evident as he stormed out the house slamming the door behind him.

This made Yeri frown. The frown only grew once Jonathan walked past shortly after with a very drunk Nancy.

“Wait, Jonathan what happened? I literally just saw Steve.”

“Nothing, I’m just going to take her home ok?” Jonathan said, a bit strained.

“Well I’ll come with yo-“

“No, no, stay here, I’ll be back I promise.”

And just like that, he was out the door with Nancy leaving her alone at a house party she didn’t want to be at.

“Jeez, your boyfriend left with someone else’s girl right in front of you,” said a voice from behind her.

She turned around seeing Billy with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He only wore a dark blue button-down shirt with all of the buttons undone and a pair of jeans with his usual boots.

“He’s not my boyfriend…” Yeri said only a bit irritated.

“Right, you mentioned that. What are you drinking?” He asked, walking closer to her, his eyes couldn’t help but wander about her body. His eyes staring straight down her open blouse instead of her cup.

Feeling his wandering eyes, she shifted covering her chest as she spoke.

“Not sure… I think it’s the spiked punch.”

“Oh, that’s horse piss try this,” he said, handing her his beer.

She looked at it skeptically, “You didn’t spike that did you?”

That made him scoff as he drank out of the bottle before handing it to her again. Seeing him drink it made her feel a bit better. She took it from him, looking at the bottle before taking a sip of it and immediately pulling a disgusted face.

That made Billy laugh loudly at her facial expression.

“This is literally horse piss, I’ll take whatever this shit is over that any day,” she said handing him back his beer bottle and using her spiked punch to get the beer taste out of her mouth.

“Hey, Billy!” Tommy shouted, waving him to come over.

Billy looked over then back at Yeri.

“C’mon,” he said, taking Yeri’s wrist and guiding her over to the little group.

Tommy had his arm around Cindy, another boy had his arm around his girlfriend, the two of them whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears. Then there was another boy named Eric. Once in the group, Billy let go of Yeveria’s wrist before putting his arm around another girl's waist.

“Jesus, Yeveria, you should dress like this more often,” Cindy said, looking over Yeri’s outfit.

“Yeah, and stop hanging out with losers like Harrington and Byers,” Tommy said before high-fiving the two other boys.

“Why, when they have ten times more personality than a jackass like you?” Yeri said as she sips her drink, beginning to like it a lot more.

Cindy and the girl in Billy’s arms who was named Martha laughed at that.

“Now Yeveria, is it true you knew our boy Billy back in California?” Eric asked looking down at her.

“Uh, yeah, he wasn’t a dick like he is now though,” She said with a smirk glancing up at Billy who only laughed again.

She was starting to loosen up. She couldn’t tell if she was just getting used to the atmosphere or the alcohol already metabolizing in her body, but they continued this banter for a while. Eventually, everyone was in the living room dancing screaming the lyrics to ‘Jessie’s Girl’ like their life depended on it. Soon after, the most iconic song of them all turned on: ‘Careless Whisper’.

**_ TRIGGER WARNING: MINOR SEXUALL ASSULT _ **

Now, all night Yeveria and Eric had been hitting it off very well. He was the only one without a date in the little popular kid crowd. So when the song came on it was a no-brainer for Yeri and Eric to begin slow dancing to the song like every other couple on the floor.

Both of them were rather drunk at this point. Drinking gave Yeri a bunch of confidence, that was for sure. As she danced she didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around Eric’s neck as he serenaded her by singing along to a careless whisper.

Eric slowly went in for a kiss. Yeri easily melted into it, kissing him back as Eric’s hands moved to her plump ass giving it a nice squeeze. She didn’t know how she felt about that. She wasn’t that drunk, that was for sure. She did however like the kissing. She simply moved his hands up to her waist. However, he was persistent. He moved his hands back to her ass, gripping it a bit tighter.

This time Yeri tried pulling away fully but he held onto her.

“Oh c’mon baby, don’t fight it,” he said, pulling her in for another kiss.

“No, E-Eric, I don’t like it,” She said in protest, but Eric kept going as she tried to push him away.

That's when Eric was forcefully pulled away.

** _TRIGGER WARNING OVER_ **

“Dude what the heck,” Eric protested, glaring drunkenly at Billy who had pulled him away.

“She said she didn’t like it… _**dude**._”

“Whatever, let’s go Yeveria, we should go somewhere private anyways,” Eric said, grabbing Yeveria’s arm to take her away, but before he could do so, he was swiftly punched in the face.

A loud amused, slightly twisted laugh left Billy then as the party goes a bit quiet as a circle begins to form around Yeri, Billy and Eric.

“I don’t think you quite understand what I was saying,” Billy said as Eric stands up, pulling his arms up in a fighting position.

“Leave the girl alone,” Billy said before punching him again.

An all-out brawl began as Eric and Billy began to fight. Yeri’s heart began to race as she watched the two fight. There was no real match though, Billy was basically toying with Eric the whole time. While Eric was taller, Billy had him in agility and brute strength. With each punch, Yeri jumped. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

By this time Billy was straddling Eric punching the absolute shit out of Eric. Eric’s face was covered in blood, as was Billy’s fist. The way the blood looked on Eric’s face made flashes of what Will looked like with the tentacle-like appendage over his mouth in the upside down before her eyes, making her panic more slowly being dragged into a panic attack.

“Billy, stop, he's had enough!” Shouted Cindy and Martha going in to pull him away as Tina pushed through the crowd.

“Oh my God!! Get out! Leave my house at once!” She shouted hysterically as Billy panted, climbing off a groaning Eric who definitely had a concussion and a broken nose.

Very unceremoniously, Billy left the house leaving everyone in shock. 


	3. Chapter 3

The day after Tina's party was filled with tension, not much really happened. Billy wasn’t punished since the fight happened off school grounds and was now known to not be trifled with. Eric ended up not showing up to school but the fight would for sure go down in Hawkins high school history. At least for the class of 1984. 

Billy was currently having the time of his life playing basketball shirtless in the gym. He was fighting for the ball with Steve. 

“Harrington, right? I heard you used to run this school. That true? King Steve, they used to call you, huh? Then you turned bitch,” Billy instigated. 

“Hey, maybe you should just shut up and just play the game,” Steve replied before Billy knocked him down, gaining the ball and scoring points for his team. 

“Whoo! That's what I'm talking about! Whoo!” Tommy hyped Billy up as Billy walked back over to Steve who was still on the ground with a cocky grin on his lips as he stuck his tongue out.

“Steve,” Nancy said from across the gym, making Steve sit up and look at her. Images of the night before flashing through his head. The words that stung him so badly repeated like a broken record in his mind.

He got up and walked with her outside the gym building obviously a bit distressed at seeing her. 

“What are you doing here,” Steve said, scratching his head and a hand on his hip as he looked down at the woman he loved. 

“What do you think? Where were you this morning? I missed first period” Nancy said irritatedly, looking up at him. 

“I figured Jonathan would take you so I just picked up Yeveria cuz she needed a ride.”

“Wha… what are you talking about?” She was thoroughly confused. 

This made Steve scoff, “Jesus, you really can't handle your alcohol. Uh... You remember going to Tina's party last night, right?”

“Yes.”

“And then what?”

“I remember dancing, and... spilling some punch. You got mad at me because I was drunk.. and then you took me home.”

Steve’s irritation only grew as he remembered what happened more and more. Seeing Jonathan taking her home that night. He knew it was the beginning of the end, but he still wanted to hold on. 

“No, see, that's where your mind gets a little bit fuzzy. That was your other boyfriend. That was... That was Jonathan.”

This made Nancy frown now, “I don’t understand” 

“It’s pretty simple Nancy. You were just telling it how it is”

“What?”

“Uh… apparently, uh… we killed Barb and I don't care, 'cause I'm bullshit… and our whole… our whole relationship is bullshit, and… I mean, pretty much everything is just bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. Oh, yeah, also, you don't love me.” His voice got more sad and broken as he explained further. 

“I was drunk Steve. I don’t remember any of it,” Nancy pleaded to him, getting a bit irritated herself. 

“So that makes everything that you said… It's what? Just bullshit, too?”

“Yes.”

“Well then tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“That you love me,” he said ever so softly. The desperation could be seen in his eyes. He just wanted her to love him back because he absolutely adored her. 

“Really?” Was her only response. Before Steve could even react a guy burst out of the gym. 

“Harrington! Dude, we need you, man. That douchebag's killing us. Let's go!”

“All right!” Steve responded. 

“Come on!”

He sighed, looking at Nancy. “I think you’re bullshit,” he said before walking off to go back to the basketball game.

**————**

Jonathan was wandering the school searching for Yeveria; he hadn’t seen her all day. He started frowning when he didn’t see her in the usual place she would be. He decided to try one last spot she could be. He smiled when he saw her sitting there furiously doing what seemed to be homework. 

“Yeri!” 

The girl looked up frowning when she saw him shifting to pack up her things not liking how she was found. 

“W-wait… what’s wrong? You didn’t come over today. I walked over to your house and they said that Steve picked you up” 

“I don’t really want to have this conversation right now Jonathan,” Yeri mumbled as she finished packing up her stuff. 

“Yeveria what did I do?!” 

Yeveria was already on the brink of tears, he had been all day. She turned and looked at Jonathan as her eyes got watery. 

“If you even have to ask, then you aren’t as good of a friend that I thought you were,” she said softly before leaving Jonathan standing there. 

Jonathan watched as she left the library frowning, deciding to go out in his car, he whole time racking his brain on what he could have done to hurt Yeveria. 

Once in the parking lot, Nancy ran over to him. 

“Hey Jonathan, I need to ask you something,” she started off before continuing. “Last night. How did I get home?” She questioned. That’s when it hit him. He promised Yeri he would come back to the party. But he never did. He left her there. As he thought about this Nancy explained the argument she and Steve just had and all the things she supposedly said to him. 

“Oh um… Steve asked me to take you home,” he said thinking of something off the fly. 

“So he asked you to take me home?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, he was upset. I mean, he was… He was really upset. But he was still worried about you. Hey. You need to cut yourself some slack, okay? People say stupid things when they're wasted. Things they don't mean.”

“Yeah, but that's the thing. What if I did mean it? All this time, I've been trying so hard to pretend like everything's fine, but it's not. I… I feel like there's this… I don't know, like this…”

“Like there’s this weight you're carrying around with you. All the time. I feel it too.” 

“Yeah, well it’s different for you, Will came home. And so did Yeveria.”

“Yeah. Yeah, they did. But they’re not the same. I try to be there for them. Especially Will, you know, to help him, but…” he sighed thinking for a moment. “I don't know. I mean, maybe… maybe things just can't go back to the way they were.”

“Doesn’t that make you mad?”

“Mad?”

“Yeah, that those... those people who did this, who ruined so many lives, they just get away with it.”

“The people responsible for this… they’re dead”

“Do you really believe that?” Nancy questions as she notices someone listening to a cassette player. 

“Your mom's boyfriend works at a radio shack, right?” 

“Yeah, why?”

“Wanna skip fourth period?”

**————**

  
  


The rest of the school day was rather boring. Yeveria sat in her last class for the day. She noticed a few students looking back at her, then talking amongst themselves. That had been happening all day. It was starting to get to her. She tried her best to avoid any interactions or conversations about the night before, however, that was getting a bit hard, especially due to the fact that Billy was sitting right next to her. 

The two had made some eye contact through the rather boring class. Once the bell rang Yeri stood up and walked out of the room, Billy quickly following after her. 

“Hello ms. Thornton,” he said smoothly, walking beside her as the rest of the students hustled to get to their lockers then to their cars so they could go home. 

“Hi, Billy… I um… wanted to thank you for last night. I had it handled, you didn't have to do all that,” Yeveria said, looking up at him for a moment before looking away again, watching where she was walking. 

Billy didn't really know why she was apologizing, Eric was a scumbag and needed to be dealt with. So he dealt with him, and he was sure Eric wouldn't try that again. At least not while Billy was around. 

“It was no trouble Yer… did you get home safely?” He had waited a moment outside for her, but she never came out so he ended up just leaving. 

“Yeah… um… Tommy drove me home. My grandparents were pretty pissed… I won't be having any more late-night adventures anytime soon.” Her grandparents had absolutely ripped her a new one, between the way she was dressed and the booze on her breath. On top of that, she was home at an unreasonable hour. She had a new curfew which was now set at an early eight O’clock. 

Yeri stopped walking when she got to her locker, opening it and grabbing a few things out of it and putting some things away. Billy leaned next to the locker next to her as Martha walked over to them leaning into Billy and kissing him softly on the cheek, she then turned to look at Yeveria. 

“Hey girlie, how are you?” Martha said softly. 

“I'm doing alright…” Yeri said closing her locker before looking at Billy. “I'm not doing your project for you, not all of it at least. I honestly will have a lot of free time, so if you give me a list of some of your favorite songs, I'll put together the basics of your project.” Yeri decided to change the subject. 

“Yeveria!” Steve called her from the end of the hallway making her wave to him. 

“The project is due soon, so sooner rather than later on, that list would be great,” she said to Billy before walking away towards a waiting steve. 

Once to Steve, she realized she had promised Mr. Clarke she would go to the next AV club meeting and act as a chaperone since he had a date with his girlfriend.

“Shit… I'm sorry Steve I have to stay after. I promised I would chaperone a club meeting for one of the middle school teachers,” she said, seeing the slight disappointment in Steve's face but he nodded. “Hey, I'll call you tonight, ok? Or you can come over and study? My grandmother loves you. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you coming over for dinner,” she suggested to him. 

He thought about if for a moment then nodded. “Alright, beats moping at home,” he said with a slight smile. “Catch you later,” he said walking out the school, Yeri following then heading over to the middle school.

**————**

  
  


Once Yeri was signed into the middle school she walked to Mr. Clarke’s classroom, opening the door to see Dustin, Louis, Mr. Clarke and Billy’s sister who she still hadn’t met yet. She was a bit concerned when she didn't see Mike and Will.

“Hey Mr. Clarke, and crew,” she said waving to the group setting her stuff down before walking over to see what they were all gathered around, seeing the ghost trap Dustin had made for his halloween costume. 

“What are we doing?”

“We're showing Mr. Clarke Dustin's weird discovery,” Billy's sister explained, making Yeri nod. 

“This is the reason I was late for class,” Dustin expressed 

“Pretty neat. These doors function?” Mr. Clarke said looking at the time for a moment, hoping he wasn't late for his date.

“Well, yeah, obviously. But it's not about the trap. It's what's inside. Now, this very well may change your perception of the world.”

“Consider my interest piqued.”

“All right, first, let's just clarify that... this is my discovery, not yours.”

Lucas now getting annoyed cut him off, “Dustin, Jesus! Just show him!”

“I'm just trying to clarify-”

“Dustin!” Billy's sister was getting annoyed with Dustin. 

“Okay, fine.”

Just as Dustin was about to click the button to open the hatch of the ghost trap, the door bursts open revealing Mike and will.

“Stop! I'm sorry, Mr. Clarke. It was just a stupid prank,” Mike said hastily walking over to the group.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dustin said, upset that his epic moment was interrupted.

“I told him to stop. We need to go.”

“Mike!”

“Right now. Right now!”

Mike grabbed the ghost trap and ran out the room, leaving Yeveria and mr. Clarke confused. 

“Um… you go on your nice date. I can take it over from here,” Yeveria said before running off after the kids. 

**————**

Yeveria searched the halls for the kids finally coming to the AV club door seeing Billy’s sister banging on the door. 

“Hello? Hello? Guys, come on. Can I come in yet?” she screamed at the door.

“No!” Mike shouted.

“What's going on?” Yeveria asked the red headed girl who crossed her arms angrily. 

“They wont let me in… saying it's some sort of thing that won't understand.”

“Oh… let me talk to them… may I ask your name?”

“Max.”

“Billy Hargroves sister?”

“Step-sister.”

Yeri nodded at this before knocking on the door. 

“Boys, what the hell is going on in there? Why isn't max allow-” before she could finish, the door was opened and she was pulled inside forcefully before the door was slammed behind her. She looked at the group of boys with wide eyes. 

“Whats going on?” 

“The thing Dustin caught, Will said he saw it last year,” Mike explained, making Yeri’s face go white looking at Will with a dreaded look. She thought they would be done with all of this. That it would eventually just go away.

“I don't understand,” Lucas said, shaking his head

“What do you not understand?” Mike asked earnestly, not knowing how to make it even more clear

“Will saw something that looked like Dart last year?”

“Kind of, but there was no tail,” Will explained

“But then he heard it yesterday. The exact same sound.”

“Why didn't you tell us before?” Dustin asked

“I wasn't sure.”

“So it’s a coincidence.”

“Wait, wait, wait… someone needs to explain this to me because I'm very confused. Who is Dart? Is that the thing? What does it look like?”

“I found him in my trash outside.”

Before Dustin could finish explaining Mike interjected. “What if when Will was stuck in the Upside Down, he somehow acquired True Sight?”

“True Sight?” Yeri was getting more and more confused

“It gives you the power to see into the ethereal plane,” Dustin said, making Lucas sigh.

“Elaborate.”

“Maybe these episodes that Will keeps having aren't really flashbacks at all. Maybe they're real. Maybe Will can somehow see into the Upside Down.”

“So that would mean…”

“Dart is from the Upside Down.”  This made Yeveria’s heartbeat increase. Could she really be going back? Could Will? Why was this following them? 

“So you’re saying… theoretically… Will could be seeing into the Upside Down? Could that mean the feelings I've been having… like somebody's watching me… doors opening but they don't in the natural? The sounds? All of that is real?” Yeveria said making Will look at her. 

“You’re having that to?”

“Yeah… not at the scale of yours… but they have increased lately… but that's not what's important. If this creature-”

“Dart,” Dustin interjected, making Yeri sigh.

“Dart… if Dart is from the Upside Down, then we have to take him to Hopper.”

“I agree,” Mike said, some of the others nodding their heads in agreement.

“No way. If we take him to Hopper, Dart's good as dead,” Dustin protested.

“Maybe he should be dead,” Mike said with disdain

“How can you say that?”

“How can you not? He's from the Upside Down.”

“Maybe. But even if he is, it doesn't automatically mean that he's bad.”

“That's like saying just because someone's from the Death Star it doesn't make them bad.” Lucas said with a level head.

“We have a bond.”

“A bond? Just because he likes nougat?” Mike couldn't believe what he was hearing and he was getting more and more irritated as the conversation progressed. 

“No, because he trusts me!”

“He trusts you?” Lucas said skeptically.

“Yes, I promised I would take care of him.”

“Why are we arguing, either way we need to take it to the hopper to get it to the lab,” Yeri said, moving to grab the trap Dart was in. 

But as she walked over to grab it Dart began screeching and making the trap move around the table. That screeching made Yeri’s whole body tense up as the sound was so vividly familiar. She heard the same sound coming from the things chasing her in the upside down. Everyone began to panic not knowing what was happening.

“Guys! What's going on?” Max says her patience running out. She pulled a pin out of her hair and began trying to pick the lock. As she does that outside, on the inside, the gang was watching the trap flip to its side. Mike reached over to the radio sitting on the desk grabbing its microphone as a weapon. 

“Don't hurt him!” Dustin said desperately

“Only if he attacks,” Mike reassured.

“Just open it already,” Lucas said, getting impatient.

Dustin slowly reached forward and opened the contraption, making Dart come stumbling out. He was much bigger than he was this morning. 

“Holy shit,” Yeveria said as they all watch the creature struggle on the table. Suddenly legs shoot out from under him. 

“Oh shit!” Lucas said, shit being the only thing anybody in the room could use to express their shock. Seeing this new development, Mike goes to attack Dart but Dustin lunged to stop him. 

“No!”

Dart leaped off the table before Mike could get to him, running towards the door right as it opened dart ran right past Max.

“What the-” 

“Oh shit!” Mike said as the group watches in horror as Dart got loose.

“Where'd he go?” Yeveria said, panicked.

“What was that?” Max asked, the only one confused.

“Dart!” Mike said with anger.

“What?”

“You let him escape!”

“Why did you attack him?!” Dustin said angrily at Mike.

“Come on.” Mike ignored Dustin as he ran off after Dart.

“Don't hurt him. Don't you hurt him!” he said running after Mike.

**————**

“East is clear. No sign of Dart. Where'd you go, you little bastard?” Mike said as he scanned the hallways he wa s walking. Everyone decided to split up and look for Dart, taking different sections of the school.

“West is clear, too. Will?” Dustin responded into the walkie, worried that someone else would find Dart before him and kill or hurt him. 

“South is clear. Lucas? Anything?” Will said looking over at Yeveria who looked inside a locker that was cracked open, shaking her head to inform Dart wasn't inside.

Lucas ran up to a door and kicked it open expecting it to be empty. He was startled when he saw a teacher inside.

“Excuse me! Mr. Sinclair!”

Lucas stammered as he slowly walks backwards, “Sorry, I was looking for study hall. Bye.” He quickly ran off. “Nothing here, man.”

Yeveria sighed as she heard nobody had found him yet. “He probably escaped the building by now…” she said as she and Will walk down the halls in their section. 

“We still have to check the bathrooms…” he said trailing off before starting again. “How come you didn't tell me you have true sight?” Will question her.

She didn't really know why she didn't say anything. “Well… I don't really… it only really started this past week. Before then, I would just have bad flashbacks. But recently… all I can feel is this evil… and it's as if I'm back. Being watched by a shadow,” she mumbled. 

“I feel that to, except I see the shadow… he wants to destroy everything,” he said, his face going pale as he thought about it.

“We will get through this… we already got through it once on our own. I'm sure it will be easier now that everyone is here,” she said as they get to the bathrooms. “You check boys I'll check girls,” Will nodded at that and walked inside the boys room as Yeveria walks into the girls.

As Will went deeper into the bathroom he heard the chattering sound of Dart. He slowly openned different stalls before landing on the one that Dart was in. He was hiding behind the toilet bowl looking at Will with scared eyes. 

“Guys... I found him.”

“Where?” Dustin said, stopping in his tracks, ready to sprint to the location before Mike could get there.

“In the bathroom by Mr. Salerno's.”

“Copy that,” Mike said moving to make his way there. 

Will looked back at Dart, seeing how scared the small creature was.

“It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you.”

Yeveria walked into the bathroom right when Dart screeched, making Will gasp and run right past her completely terrified leaving Yeveria standing there unable to know what to do. Staring at the creature before it screeched again, sending Yeveria into an episode. Seeing the snow flake like particles fall slowly. She looked around feeling her heartbeat quicken seeing the upside down version of the school, she ran out of the bathroom, looking around seeing the door to the outside swing closed she ran towards it seeing Will. He was inside as well. That's when she feels the evil. Its overbearing intimidation makes her tremble, she had never felt it this strong before. 

She followed Will outside gasping when she saw the dark shadowy hoard of smoke towered over the scool staring right at Will seemingly ignoring Yeveria. What was this creature's fascination with Will? She ran further out shaking in terror. 

“HEY!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! TAKE ME! BOTHER ME!” she shouted at the creature to no success as it merely knocked the wind out of her with one of its many legs making her speechless as she watched Will scream at the creature.

“Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away!” he chanted, screaming at the monster making the creature screech its ear-shattering screech before attacking Will, engulfing him in its darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> join my discord for wrriting!!
> 
> https://discord.gg/Mq5WwNeqyU


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